After four years playing under the sizzling Spanish sun, Gareth Bale’s Real Madrid career could come to an end this summer. A return to the Premier League has been discussed by the tabloids practically the moment since the Welsh forward left Tottenham Hotspur in 2013 with the PFA Player of the Year award in hand, but it now seems more plausible than ever.
After lifting the Champions League title on Saturday, Bale was quick to insist otherwise. But there are clear reasons for Real Madrid to cash-in on a player they once set a new world-record transfer fee for. First and foremost, Zinedine Zidane has to find a way of improving a side that has proved to be Europe’s best for two years in a row; tough decisions must be made and Bale will turn 28 before the start of next season.
"We are winning trophies and I am happy. I have signed a long-term contract at Madrid. My family is happy and I am happy, so yes we will continue what we are doing.
"It's the reason why I came to Real Madrid - to win trophies. We're enjoying winning them at the moment, so we'll continue to do so. Three Champions Leagues in four seasons isn't too bad. I think we can get better.
"We are still quite young as a whole team and we have a great squad."
Gareth Bale on Real Madrid future
Barring flat-track bullying at Juventus, PSG or Bayern Munich, the Premier League is the most logical next destination for Bale, the prodigal son returning to his homeland and the top flight he once ruled supreme over, that gave him the platform to earn a historic move to the Bernabeu.
The question, however, in a world where Alvaro Morata is valued at £78million and Romelu Lukaku could become the first ever £100million player, is which Premier League clubs can justify the gigantic fee that would be required to bring Bale back to England, especially with five years remaining on his Real Madrid contract. Intertwined and most importantly, is he actually worth it?
On the surface, that may seem a simple question. Bale left the Premier League as an undisputed member of world football’s winger-forward elite and has done nothing to blemish his reputation during four campaigns in the Spanish capital.
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In fact, quite the opposite; he’s won three Champions League titles in that time, seven trophies in total, as part of Los Blancos’ free-scoring front three that will be remembered as iconic for its talent, physicality, velocity and success - the soon-to-be legendary BBC.
But scratch a little deeper and there are causes for concern that, at the age of 28, must be considered deeply by Premier League clubs planning over the next three or four years.
For starters, the 2016/17 campaign has been the least productive of Bale’s Real Madrid career - actually, his least productive since 2009/10, before truly establishing himself as a member of Tottenham’s attack. This season has produced just nine goals across all competitions.
Of course, that has been a consequence of injuries, keeping Bale on the sidelines for extended periods throughout the campaign. But Real Madrid’s impressive success without him, lifting both La Liga and Champions League honours, certainly raises the question of how pivotal the Welshman actually is at the Bernabeu, or whether he’s simply been an especially smooth, shiny and expensive cog in a vastly talented machine.
Furthermore, the injuries are mounting up in a way you wouldn’t expect of a footballer so athletically gifted as the former Southampton youngster. Bale has always been an astonishing physical specimen and as much as his talent, it was his engine that made him so unplayable for Premier League opposition. A centre-back might be able to keep up with him once or twice when breaking through, but not in the 80th minute after being run ragged all afternoon. In short, he was a monster.
Over the last two seasons, Bale’s missed a staggering 206 days through injury and perhaps most worryingly, it’s not due to one recurring problem - he’s suffered calf, ankle, knee and hip injuries during that time. The overriding concern for Premier League clubs, quite simply, is that the English top flight is a far more physically demanding league than La Liga. If Bale’s picking up niggling injuries there, the problem would surely only intensify in England.
On top of that, it’s not quite clear what manifestation of Gareth Bale Premier League clubs would be buying this summer. He’s a different kind of player to the talismanic dynamo who once ripped defences apart single-handed for Tottenham, in some instances better and others worse. Real Madrid has unquestionably made him a smarter forward in terms of movement and technique in tight areas, whilst he's become less of a winger bursting through from midfield and much more of a goalscoring forward.
But with Cristiano Ronaldo taking the leading role at the Bernabeu, he’s averaged less goals, created chances, shots, fouls won and aerial duels won per match for Real Madrid than during his final season at White Hart Lane. Likewise, 2012-2014 was peak Bale; before and after, he’s never managed to break the 20-goal mark across all competitions. Those were also the years in which he most consistently won individual accolades and scored two goals in two cup finals - the 2013/14 Copa Del Rey and Champions League.
There’s also the question of how Bale would actually fit into the Premier League’s current top sides. Only three can truly afford his services; Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United. But he’s not a Pep Guardiola player in the diminutive, possession-retaining sense and although he’d suit Chelsea’s counter-attacking style - they won the title this season with only the sixth-most possession but the most successful dribbles of any side in the division - his presence alongside Eden Hazard may disrupt the balance of Chelsea’s front three. Pedro is a subtle yet incredibly important support act to the Belgian talisman and Diego Costa.
That leaves Manchester United, who appear to be in the market for practically any superstar they can lay their hands on, ironically mimicking the Galacticos policy that brought Bale to the Bernabeu four years ago. Although many would argue playing just behind the striker is in fact Bale’s best position, he’d be a god-send to Jose Mourinho as one of the wide-men in his typical 4-3-3 setup - provided he’s willing to do his fair share of tracking back.
There are no doubt cheaper and younger alternatives out there, who haven’t built up a worrying selection of injury problems over the last few years. But if there’s one factor unquestionably working in Bale’s favour, aside from his enormous profile, is the fact he’s a proven match-winner, especially when placed in sides of lesser quality than Real Madrid.
Bale not only demonstrated that during his final season at Tottenham Hotspur, during which their entire game plan came to revolve around him in a central role, but also throughout his affluent international career with Wales, guiding them to the semi-finals of Euro 2016 after endless decades in the wilderness and producing an overall return of 26 goals from 66 caps. Even for Real Madrid, 16 of his 67 strikes have been game-winning goals - defined as goals that put the scoreline into what proved to be a winning lead.
After drawing the most games of any Premier League side this season, United undoubtedly need to find a match-winner this summer. The fact Bale is already proven in that regard, in the Premier League and at the very top of the European game makes him all-the-more appealing.
But at the age of 28 and suddenly riddled with injury problems, you have to wonder how long Bale will be at that level for and subsequently, whether the expectation as United’s prized asset will prove beyond him in the long-term. It can certainly be argued that he's not quite been worthy of that once world-record fee for Real Madrid.
As proven as Bale is, spending the kind of money on him spoken about for team-mate Alvaro Morata or the £68million he's valued at by Transfermarkt represents a real gamble. Would you take the punt? Let us know by voting below...